Killing them softly

President Barack Obama has come to praise his Republican challengers - and to bury them.

Over the last few weeks, Obama and his top allies couldn’t seem to stop applauding several of the GOP’s potential 2012 contenders.

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To listen to them tell it, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is a health care visionary and U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman is a loyal foot soldier of the administration.

The political calculus behind that praise is straightforward: by wrapping their arms around some of the GOP’s most credible and deep-pocketed potential challengers, Democrats undermine the party’s attempt to win over its conservative base in the primary.

Obama aides deny that they’re wading into the Republican contest, but they’ve sought to intervene in GOP politics in the past, if on a smaller scale. Part of the benefit of sending Huntsman to Beijing was the hope that it would remove a moderate and wealthy Republican from the 2012 field, just as appointing Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y) as Secretary of the Army and attempting to place Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) and former Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) in the administration would have freed up GOP-held seats.

Republicans are starting to call out the White House for their tactics.

“You may have noticed,” Romney told a gathering of Republicans in New Hampshire last weekend, “that the president and his people spend more time talking about me and Massachusetts health care than Entertainment Tonight spends talking about Charlie Sheen.”

That’s hyperbole, but only barely.

In a meeting with governors at the White House last month, Obama was effusive in lauding Romney’s health care achievement, which remains a major source of distrust toward Romney among conservatives.

“I agree with Mitt Romney,” Obama declared, “who r ecently said he’s proud of what he accomplished on health care in Massachusetts.”

Romney’s received even more enthusiastic praise from Democrats back in the Bay State. Gov. Deval Patrick, a close White House ally, touted Romney as “co-author of our health care reform, which has been a model for national health care reform,” on ABC’s “This Week.”

For Huntsman – who remains a member of the administration until his resignation takes effect April 30 – the applause has been at least as lavish.

In late January, Obama gave Huntsman a very public rhetorical hug during the Chinese president’s state visit, announcing in front of a crowd of reporters: “I couldn’t be happier with the ambassador’s service … I’m sure that him having worked so well with me will be a great asset in any Republican primary.”

White House chief of staff Bill Daley tightened the embrace in an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, praising Huntsman’s “support of the Obama administration, his support of the president.”

“The things he did on behalf of this administration and the closeness in which he worked with the president, is much appreciated,” Daley said. “And I’m sure he’ll talk about that in the primaries.”

Actually, the White House aims to keep talking about it well before the first votes are cast.

Obama adviser David Axelrod told POLITICO that Huntsman has “been a fine representative and we’re grateful for his service” – the sort of job review that won’t help Huntsman detach himself from the White House in a GOP primary.

And on the topic of Romney’s main albatross, the health care law, Axelrod enthused: “So much from the Massachusetts experiment informed the decision-making around [federal health care reform]”

“I do admire him for trying to tackle that problem in Massachusetts,” Axelrod said. “He ought to take credit for it. Someday, maybe he will.”